What are the benefits and drawbacks of imposing biographical criticism on The Great Gatsby? F. Scott Fitzgerald

Imposing biographical criticism upon The Great
Gatsby certainly underlines the authenticity of the novel's
setting, characters, and motifs; however, at the same time it often limits the scope
of examination of certain elements of the novel.

One of the
attributes of Fitzgerald's novel is that it is a veritable tableau of the Jazz Age--a
term coined by the author himself--in which Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda lived along
with the others of Gertrude Stein's "Lost Generation."  There is an
almost tangible quality to the portrayal to the carelessness and excessiveness of the
corrosive effects of wealth and a decadent lifestyle. Likewise, a character such as
Daisy comes alive because she has been molded after a real person, the wife of
Fitzgerald. This realism lends the novel its literary truth. In fact, it is so realistic
that at Fitzgerald's own funeral, his friend Dorothy Parker, uttered for Fitzgerald a
line form Jay Gatsby's funeral:  "the poor son of a
bitch." 

On the other hand, by focusing too intently upon
the parallels of Fitzgerald's narrative and his life, readers may have the propensity to
ignore what Richard Yates, a worthy writer of the 1960s, lauds in The Great
Gatsby as "a miracle of talent" and "a triumph of technique."  For,
Fitzgerald's great novel extends well beyond being a mere examination of the amoral and
illusionary time. Indeed, his magnificent development of character and motif, use
creative imagery and symbolism are innovative and beyond compare.  Truly, The
Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest work.